Comment by NeoTar
2 years ago
Isn't this just a manifestation of high-context versus low-context cultures? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-context_and_low-context...
2 years ago
Isn't this just a manifestation of high-context versus low-context cultures? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-context_and_low-context...
Yes, it's just another name for that.
But this article paints high-context as bad and low-context as good, when they're really just different (and opposite ends of a spectrum, not a black or white one or another).
Does it? That's not what I got from the article at all.
The author is from a "guess" culture trying to operate in an "ask" culture world. She's adapting, but not because any particular culture is better than the other, but because "when in Rome, do as the Romans do".
Multiple times it mentions that "guess culture" is frustrating and difficult, and that she and her brother prefer ask culture because it's easier.
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It's definitely bad in a work context where clear and effective communication is important.
You're probably thinking "but implicit communication is just as effective!" but it definitely isn't. It's all about hints and guessing motivations which is inevitably unreliable.
These are always fun "pop-sci" discussions, but the wiki says this whole dichotomy has been debunked [0].
I can't think of any company that doesn't have some low-context interfaces. It can be expensive for top executives to constantly address every question with "clear and effective communication." Some people make it look easy, but it's hard!
[0]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-context_and_low-context...
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Mm, not necessarily all work contexts IMO, I just think it’s particularly helpful in software because software itself is highly semantic and software teams tend to not all come from the same exact background.
If you were doing something like sales, where both all your salesmen and clients were locals with the same social expectations on how to communicate implicitly, there wouldn’t be any direct benefits to trying to communicate explicitly, and doing so may come across as rude or offensive.